Downhill
by acquiringwriter
Summary: Book Three in the New Rider Series! Events quickly spiraling downhill, Percy Jackson has to step up to the position of Grand Master Rider and be the leader everyone expects him to be, making decisions that could make or break his order … and the world. Rated T just in case.
1. RECAP of The New Rider and Similarities

**Hi all! I've worked for a while and I've finally returned with the RECAP of **_**Similarities **_**and **_**The New Rider**_**. You can skip this chapter if you'd like, but if you're like me, sometimes you read other fics before going on to the next book in a series, so it's nice to sometimes have that refresher.**

After the war with Kronos ended, Percy was sent to Alagaësia, where he met Eragon and signed up to fight Galbatorix.

When exposed to a green dragon egg, it hatched, and Percy became a Dragon Rider, training with Murtagh, Eragon, and Arya under Dragon Rider Oromis and his dragon Glaedr.

Percy met an elf named Landar Fargo who gave Percy gifts from Kílf, goddess of the oceans and rivers, the Alagaësian counterpart to Poseidon.

After training for a while, the five Dragon Riders flew to the old Rider Island, named Vroengard, and spoke their true names at the Vault of Souls.

On the way down, Percy found a room with lots of valuable items. Father down in the tunnel, back out of the room, they found several Eldunarí and Eggs.

They flew back to fight Galbatorix.

Shruikan killed Oromis and Glaedr in the beginning of the battle but ultimately, Shruikan and Galbatorix were killed, or so they thought.

During the celebration party, Gûntera, the deity who created the elves, rewarded Murtagh and Percy with being true elves, like the very first elves.

After Percy was transformed, the gods teleported him, Alexō and all his belongings back to Earth, where his fellow demigods tried to kill his dragon.

After several fights, Percy packed his things and left in the middle of the night, settling in the Rocky Mountains.

Annabeth, who had been distraught since Percy left Camp, found Percy's base and was talking with him when a portal opened up and spit out Murtagh, Eragon and their dragons.

While Percy was talking to them, Annabeth snuck away and had a white dragon egg hatch for her. She named the female dragon Naina, after Light.

Later, Eragon and Murtagh found a Rider City that had been abandoned.

They found a lot of Eldunarí, a few scrolls, and a silver Rider sword named Aiedale, the morning star, which went to Annabeth.

After a meeting with Kílf, Percy learned that Sally Jackson was not his mother, and Poseidon was not his father. In fact, he was not even born on Earth, but rather in Alagaësia. He was born to the goddess Kílf, but he did not know who his father was.

When Naina become old enough to ride, Percy started teaching Annabeth so they could go look for more ruins. While they were out looking, Percy found a man being attacked by hellhounds, but it was really a shade. During the fight, Percy learned he had lost the curse of Achilles. But the whole deal with the shade told Percy that Alagaësia and Earth are more alike than anyone had thought.

When Eragon learned that Percy was Alagaësian, they both realized that people from Alagaësia could go to Earth, but not the other way around.

Soon after, Nico and Thalia became Riders, and began studying under Percy, Murtagh, and Eragon. The Riders find a abandoned base in Texas where they are surrounded by a strange race that attacks them and kidnaps Nico.

During the battle, Percy's sword, _Adurna_, starts to glow eerily. Thalia and Percy soon find Nico and Percy controls a member of that strange race's blood to make him free Nico, earning him three red claw-like marks starting on his neck and going on his back and the title, "bloodmover".

Percy and his group go to bases nearby where they find lots of armor, lots of weapons, hundreds of scrolls, and one very massive Eldunarí, named Könungr.

Several days later, Gûntera appears to Percy and tells him that he must find the Earthen Vault of Souls and destroy them.

He decides to read all the scrolls to see if he can find anything about the Vault or his Father, who Kílf would not tell him about.

Percy travels back to Alagaësia and learns that the first Eragon is his father. While visiting his burial place, he fights the merged Kronos / Galbatorix and their gold dragon that looks strangely familiar to Percy – for the first time and gets kidnapped. Eragon, Murtagh, and Arya all decide to look for Percy but Galbatorix and Kronos kidnap them as well.

On Earth, Thalia and Nico sense this has happened and Nico goes to the Dwarves for help.

Back on Alagaësia, Percy had broken everyone out and they travelled to Du Weldenvarden to have Rhunön forge _Riptide_ and _Adurna_ together. They all travel back to earth, but Fírnen is left back in Alagaësia by Arya so he could look over things for a little while.

Percy travels to the first section of the Earthen Vault of Souls, where he resurrects Beckendorf, Silena, Bianca, and Zoë.

Percy travels to Camp Jupiter after learning of it from Nico and delivers three eggs to them, knowing who they will hatch for.

Percy travels to Camp to talk to Rachel but discovers that Chiron has betrayed him and lied to him. He rescues Rachel from monsters and then Rachel has a vision of what he needs to do.

The group splits up and they both destroy the last two prism entrances.

After they return, Gûntera was going to do something for Percy but an ambassador from the Dwarves arrived and he had to leave.

Percy and Nico travel and make relations with the dwarves. In order for there to be a real connection, Nico offers to become a dwarf and undergoes a ritual that turns him into one. Percy delivers eggs (human and dwarven eggs) to the dwarves and Nico stays to train the new Riders.

Percy opens the portal so Arya can be reunited with Fírnen and then they travel to the home of the elves, and do the same with them. Percy brings Annabeth along and she agrees to stay and train Riders in the Elven homeland.

When Percy and Arya return, they run into everyone, bleeding and injured and burned. Kronos and Galbatorix had attacked and burned Percy's base to the ground.

Distraught, Percy knew that things would only be going downhill from there.

**A/N: And that's the recap of the last two books. The next chapter shall continue our story.**


	2. Chapter 1

Silence was deafening until it was broken by the one person I expected least. _I believe the war has begun_, Könungr said in our minds.

Indeed it has, and whoever did this is going to pay.

_Percy's POV_

Arya still held my head to her chest, continuing to whisper comforting things to me and rubbing a hand along my back, though they helped little. All that I had known after my return to Earth had been destroyed and I was not going to sit here and wallow in self-pity.

Standing and shaking off her hands, I ignored the looks of concern she was giving me. A fire had been started in my soul, and it would only be diminished by the vengeance of this assault on my Order, my family, and my home.

I felt a flash of alarm and heard, _Virtha! I must check on them! _in my mind and saw Alexō took off towards the mountains to check on his family.

_I hope they're okay._

Walking through the charred bones of my former house, I pulled open my nightstand, thanking the gods that the four scrolls were still there, barely scathed. The horn of the minotaur and my armor from the battle of Manhattan were still there too. Garnering what little belongings I had that survived the fire, I placed them in the bags on Alexō's saddle. The library that I had built to hold scrolls that had been recovered had been partially burned, and as such, maybe a third of those scrolls had been destroyed.

Using the same method I had before, I placed all the scrolls and the armor and weapons in that pocket of space where it followed me around but didn't take up much space.

After everything had been gathered and we were ready to rejoin Thalia and the others at Camp Half-Blood, however bad it was to stay there, I felt my wards trying to keep something out of the camp. Whatever it was, it broke through the barrier, followed by many others. I ran towards the disturbance, Adurna drawn and ready to fight.

I heard the rustling, the barking and the panting before I saw a red haired mortal burst out of the tree line and keep running towards me, a pack of hellhounds right on her tail.

"Percy! Help!"

"Rachel?" I dove into the fray behind my friend, cutting heads and lopping off paws until the pack that had been chasing her laid in piles of gold dust, blown about by the wind. I turned back to Rachel, who had collapsed against a tree, breathing heavily. "How did you find me?"

Arya bristled at my rudeness. "Percy, calm down." I spared her a look that said, _I'm not in the mood_. I walked over to Rachel and crouched before her.

"Why are you here?"

Still breathing heavily, she said, "You told – you told me to find y- you. And you would train me, so here – here I am." I sighed heavily and turned to Arya.

"Well, I will keep my word then. Let's just try to find anything else that can be salvaged and we'll take Rachel with us when we leave." As Arya and I were collecting the supplies, I felt Alexō's relief and happiness wash over me. At least his family survived.

As Arya, Rachel, and I, as well as Alexō's family, flew towards Camp Half-Blood, I saw my students, their dragons, Eragon, and Murtagh along the border of the camp. We only left a short while after they did but being faster and older allowed us to shorten the distance between us and them substantially. It appeared that they had only been there for a few minutes, but there was already a group of uneducated demigods waiting with weapons and armor at the ready. Thalia seemed to be pleading with Chiron but as soon as he turned to answer, Alexō loosed a roar so ferocious that I couldn't have been more proud of him. All three of his young butted heads against him and I could feel their pride in him as their father.

_Good job, Alexō. That'll show them we're not to be trifled with._ I could feel his pleasure at my compliment and his agreement wash over our bond.

Everyone skirted to the side as Alexō made to land. His large bulk sent vibrations and dust flying as he folded his wings and dropped to the ground, allowing me to slide from the saddle, helping Rachel dismount after I had done so myself. As I turned around, my eyes swept across the small crowd that had gathered along the border of camp. My eyes finally landed on Thalia's former tree, where Peleus was supposed to be wrapped, guarding the Golden Fleece, yet he was not there. I filed the observation away for another time.

My long, swift strides brought me face to face with Chiron in little time. "Chiron."

"Percy, I know what you're here to ask, and I'm sorry to say that I cannot allow it. You and your dragons must find some other place to live, because I will not allow you to live here."

"We have nowhere else to go, Chiron. Someone is hunting us. Please, Chiron. If you won't do it for me, do it in remembrance of your time as my mentor." For a moment Chiron seemed torn, then he immediately returned to his former disposition.

"No," he replied adamantly. "I will not allow you or your dragons to stay here so long as I hold a place of authority at this camp." I set my jaw in anger. "Now, on authority of the Olympian Council and of Camp Half-Blood, I command you and all your accomplices to leave immediately. You and all who join you are, from now on, banished from these lands. Leave now." I heard my friends gasps and I felt a hand place itself on my shoulder before I heard Arya's voice in my ear.

"Percy, we must not tarry here any longer. It would be reckless not to leave."

I turned to face my friends, my students; hell, my family.

"Where will we go, Percy? There is nowhere safe for us besides here. Would the elves or dwarves be willing to host us?" Thalia asks.

"No, we cannot go to either of them. Doing so would lead the other to believe that we are biased and we favor one over the other. It would only hurt our position as a recovering Order," I answer.

"_My name is Alessyäta. I was a Rider, and for almost a thousand years, I was." … "Do you know where?"_ … _"It is probably in the ruins of our Rider capital … in a mountain range near what is now Asia. I believe modern mortals call them the Himalayas."_

"Percy!" Thalia yelled in my face, holding me by the shoulders. I shook my head and answered, "I know where we're going." Seeing their confused looks I said, "We're going to Mount Everest."

"Why Mount Everest?" I recounted my talk with Alessyäta and how he said that when he was alive, the Order resided within the largest mountain there was. They were skeptical but I had a hunch that this would either turn out to really benefit us, or it might bring about something we had not intended.

**A/N: End of the first real chapter of Downhill. It's been quite a long while since I finished Similarities and published this but you know how it is. School and college prep for next year is getting crazy. I did finally choose which college I wanted to go to so that definitely takes a load off of my shoulders. I'm halfway through my senior year of high school and then my life lays ahead of me, as well as the completion of this series! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Review please!**


	3. Chapter 2

"_We're going to Mount Everest."_

_Percy's POV – Outskirts of Long Island, New York_

After being rudely pushed from Camp Half-Blood's lands by Chiron, I brought the group together in a clearing so we could talk about the move to Mount Everest.

"So wait, while you were in that first Prism, you met a former Rider?" Thalia asks.

"I did. He was the leader of the Order here on Earth for almost a thousand years."

Eragon bristled at that. "A thousand years! Imagine how large his dragon was."

I nodded. It was a thought I had entertained for some while now. "Yeah. He said from his observations, the place where they had built the Capital of the Rider Order during that time would be where today we call the Himalayas."

Thalia spoke up. "So when do we leave?" I looked at Alexō in question, to which he nodded to my unspoken question.

"Alexō thinks that you'll all be able to make it across just fine, but even still, we must go across the country, and we'll fly across Russia and China in order to get there. Flying across the ocean can be dangerous, especially for newer Riders, who haven't the experience for long trips on dragonback."

"Perrrcyy!" a loud voice sounded, and then an equally loud voice, "Brother!" I turned and barely braced myself for the tackle, uh, I mean, giant bear hug, from Tyson.

"Tyson!" I exclaimed, unable to keep my excitement from my face and voice. "I haven't seen you since this whole fiasco started! How have you been?" Placing me back on the ground and stepping to the side a bit, I saw Grover following right behind him. "Grover!" I gave him a hug, and when I saw his confused face, I followed his line of sight.

He was staring at the previously presumed "dead", a.k.a. Bianca, Beckendorf, Silena, and Zoë. Then he looked at me, I mean, really looked at me and he saw my elven appearance. He started to ask a question but stayed silent, apparently at a loss for words.

"Why do you look so weird?" Apparently that lack of vocabulary had no hold over Tyson.

I grasped him by the shoulder, which was quite a bit taller than me, and said, every bit of my exhaustion seeping into my countenance, "A lot of things, come on, I'll tell you the story." I led my two friends over to a log where I sat them down and began the long recounting of the story.

**/^\**

After I finished my retelling, they both just kinda sat there. Tyson pointed at Alexō and asked, "So big green dragon shares your brain?"

I laughed, "I guess that's one way you could put it. It's similar to our empathy link, but deeper. We can speak and communicate just by thinking."

"Dude, that is sweet," Grover said. "I wish I could do that."

I looked at Alexō, who nodded slightly to my unspoken question. "I could teach you. You could be a part of the New Order of Dragon Riders."

Tyson immediately smiled and started nodding. "I want to spend more time with big brother!" Then as an afterthought, added, "will there be peanut butter?"

"Of course there will be, Tyson." We both looked at Grover, who started bleating softly.

"I – I, don't think I can, Perce. I mean, Juniper would kill me, and I still have my responsibilities as the Lord of the Wild. I'm sorry." His voice trailed off.

"Oh Grover, you make it seem like I demanded you to come if you want to learn. It's okay if you can't come. Let me give you what I know about it and hopefully that will help you learn it when I'm not here."

"Give it . . . ?" I shushed him and opened my mind to his. When I touched his mind he immediately flinched and unconsciously threw up mental walls.

_Grover, it's me, Percy. I'm giving you some of my memories so that you can learn to do what I am._ I transferred all I knew about mental projection to him and then withdrew back into my own mind. "Not many can put up mental walls that fast, and without training. It makes me wonder if your abilities will come to you faster because you're a satyr." I saw Grover shudder a bit over-dramatically and roll his neck, as if to roll out a kink.

"That was really weird, Perce."

"Yeah, but it'll help you learn to do what I just did, so just think through those memories and you'll it just fine." I clasped his shoulder. "Wait, where's Mrs. O'Leary? She's usually with you, Tyson." Both of their countenances grew somber.

"Um, Perce, she," Grover started.

"Big Leary isn't here anymore. She's got hurt." Realization dawned on me. Mrs. O'Leary? Dead? It couldn't be. . .

"She's d.. dead? How?" Grover quickly told me how after I disappeared for the second time she became a protector of sorts of the camp border and as she tried to fight off some monsters following a kid, the kid mistook her for the enemy and ended up killing her. I saw down, trying to wrap my head around her death. I knew it was going to happen one of these days but I hadn't known it would be so soon, or that I wouldn't be there for it. If I had been there, I could have saved her.

"Percy, there's nothing you could have done." I think that might have been an attempt to cheer me up but it really didn't do anything. Pulling my emotions behind a mental wall made of metaphorical steel, I pulled my hands over my face and rubbed my eyes a couple times.

"It's alright – I'm alright. Grover, I know you can't come with us now, but if I find a way; a way to get Juniper with us, then will you come?"

He seemed flabbergasted that I might be able to move Juniper. "I-I mean, if it were possible, of course. But I don't know –"

"It may not be, but if it is and I can do it, you can bet on the gods that I'll do something to keep the gang together." He smiled largely and embraced me in a hug. Knowing that this was the last time I'd see him in a while, I said, "Grover, don't let Chiron influence you. Something evil is at work here. I don't know what it is or who is doing the influencing. All I know is that a war is coming, and the camp needs to be prepared. I'll try to keep in touch with information that I think you would be able to use."

"Thank you, Percy. Take care now, all of you." And with a final embrace, he left to return to camp. I turned to Tyson, who was watching Grover leave. "You coming, Ty?" Tyson stared after Grover's retreating form for a moment more before he turned back to me with a large grin on his face.

"Of course I will go with you big brother!" With a large smile and a rather painful slap on the back, my ragtag order of Dragon Riders and I set out on the largest trip we'd have to take: the trip to our home territory, the place where we belong. Mount Everest, here we come.

**A/N: ohmigodohmigodohmigodohmigod I am sooooo sorry I let this story fall by the wayside. But behold I have returned and the inspirational muse is with me. I'll try to write a good amount before my college summer classes start up on the 22****nd**** but I don't know how much I can get out. Thank you to everyone who held on to the story and all the new viewers and readers that I've been seeing recently.**

**~acquiringwriter**


	4. Chapter 3

_"We're going to Mount Everest."_

Percy's POV – Outskirts of Long Island, New York

We spent the next couple hours plotting our route, we were going to try to stay over land for the most part, as the majority of the dragons here were too young to fly over the ocean. We would cross the US, fly up to the Bering Land Strait and cross over into Russian airspace until we fly by China and into the mountains in the southwest, later arriving to Mount Everest and the Nepal region. By the estimations that we made, it would take us a week to a week and a half of near-constant travelling to get us there. We were right, because it took us just over a week and a day to reach the Himalayas, where Alessyäta had said his former base of operations had been.

As Alexō and I flew over the Himalayas, I mentally told everyone in our wake to search the valleys with their minds and look for caves or anything suspicious. It didn't take long to come upon Mt. Everest, in all its glory. Upon reaching out to it with my mind, the entirety of the mountain turned out to be hollow, to an extent. Alessyäta was right. There is definitely something under that mountain. Alexō and I circled some of the smaller summits hoping to find an entrance to a cave that would lead us to our new home. After only thirty minutes of searching, Zoë found exactly what we were looking for. A hole in the ground so wide that Alexō and Eclipse could easily hover side by side in it. The hole, I'm thinking a sinkhole caused by dissolved limestone, dropped maybe three hundred feet, with several large tunnels branching out in several seemingly random directions. Allowing Alexō's nose and the feeling of emptiness in my mind to be our guide, we ventured through a series of tunnels that eventually gave way to smooth marble pathways and lighted alcoves burning with a mystical cyan fire.

Dismounting from the saddle, my peers and students followed suit, jogging over to stand next to me as we neared a set of very large, very ornate Golden Pine doors inlaid with onyx to offset it from the stark white of the marble floors and smooth grey stone of the walls and ceiling. Shadows flickered over the doors and floors as we approached them cautiously. Placing my hand on the door, I hesitated to look at Arya. She gave me a nonverbal cue that I should proceed, before mentally telling me, _I'm right behind you_. Only using a small portion of my elven strength, the doors being much lighter than I imagined them to be, they glided open, rolling on balls of smooth metal set into a groove.

The door opened to reveal a short entryway that opened up into a much wider central platform. The ceiling took a sharp incline as it raced so high my eyes couldn't see where it ended in the blackness. Where there should have been stone, a vast empty cavern had stayed to be found in the interim. Near the summit, as far up as I could see, two rather ginormous orange and cyan balls of flame floated in the emptiness and provided light to the area. How the small suns were suspended, I didn't know, neither did I know how they were fueled, whether it be magically or physically, and I especially didn't know how they got their peculiar color. The orange and cyan glows mixed beautifully to provide a soft glow that brightened the area with a color and bask akin to the Earth's sun. The central platform reached out over the abyss with several marble walkways like it was a hand held out over a cliff. Those walkways seemed to go on for miles, intermittently hugged by two torches on either side of the bridge. as I looked over the edge, I could see hundreds of bridges reaching across the abyss in dozens of directions, some joining momentarily to create a bazaar or a platform like the one we were standing on now. I describe this place like it was covered with bridges but there was enough room in between the bottom of our platform's bridges and the tops of the bridges directly beneath us that Alexō could fly in place comfortably, and he could weave through the myriad of bridges with more than plenty of room to spare in any direction. Lightly touching the minds of my companions, I could tell they were as amazed by our surroundings as I was. There was a serenity to the place, like nothing evil had touched the place in thousands of years. My eyes followed the largest bridge directly in front of us. Standing in a semicircle around a brazier, was one of the weirdest looking groups I've ever seen. In total there was eleven of them. It looked like the group was composed of a few of every race that exists. I saw four people that looked like humans, two dark elves, two high elves, and two dwarves.

My eyes immediately fell on one of the humans. His crimson hair and maroon eyes caused me to draw my sword and sink into a defensive position, ironically, in front of Arya.

"Wait! I'm a shade, I know. But I mean you no harm," the shade said.

"He's speaking the truth! Let us introduce ourselves. We have waited for someone to come and reclaim the old fortress of strength and power," a man in his thirties spoke up before I could respond. He radiated power and serenity, like an old monk in the far reaches of society. He looked the part too, wearing his flowing tan robes and holding an amethyst topped staff. His vibrant green eyes pulsed with unspoken power and his light skin gave off a faint glow. I knew then that he was a venerable warrior, and what's more, an immortal. Sheathing my sword, I nodded at him to continue. He started at the end of the line they had formed.

"This is Caidmyr, one of two spirits to shape their will into a physical form." The spirit-human looked at me and his pure white eyes flashed, a sheen of energy crackling within them. He wore simple clothes, probably conjured up by his manifestation into the physical realm. "His brother, Rygmyr, is the second only spirit to do so. They both came here three-hundred years ago to help me." Rgymyr's physique was much the same as his brother's; long brown hair, pale skin and a thin frame. His eyes, however, caught me off guard. They were as red as blood, and as active as a waterfall. He was constantly fidgeting with his fingers or scanning the room, like he was afraid we were going to be attacked.

"Hetfyre is our resident Shade. Having the spirits thrust upon him against his will, he was the first human to ever resist the destruction of his mind. A hundred year mind-walk helped him to commune with the spirits inside of him and help him gain their trust and power. He's the only friendly 'Shade' you'll ever meet, if you truly want to call him a Shade." Hetfyre was the first being I had laid eyes on when we noticed the group standing there. He had all the common features of a Shade; the crimson hair and maroon eyes, but his features were softer, much like that of an elf back in Alagaësia.

"This is Hjin. He's a dark elf, stabbed in the side by a common criminal. His wound never healed, not even a little, so his elven family exiled him." The elf in question stood tall for a dark elf, and shirtless. His wound was easy to see, a large gash reaching from mid stomach to lower left-hand back, gleaming against his charcoal skin. His bright orange eyes showed more weight than someone like him should have been exposed to, but also a certain strength of will. I felt wild magic roil inside of me as he made eye contact with me. I suppressed scratching my neck as I felt heat build up in my mark.

"Our two dwarves are Pjvort and Azgan. I picked up Pjvort on my travels to help her escape a life of wandering and criminal tendencies. Azgan however is another story. Born blind, the gods blessed him with a sight unlike what any of us see. He sees what others cannot and what others will not." The two dwarves stood closer to each other than to the others, hands slightly touching. They were both built like the dwarves I'd seen before, however only Azgan was as tall as the ones in Arau Barak. Pjvort was about as tall as a normal human woman, standing closer to five and three quarters than six feet, as was the norm. Azgan stood just over six feet, with tan skin and pure white hair. Pjvort had fairer skin and darker, brown hair that she swept over one shoulder.

Pointing to a another dark elf, the monk said, "This is Melwasúl. Another exiled dark elf who sought out the Riders of old and pledged herself to their service." She nodded at me, catching my attention easily. She was beautiful, even for an elf. Her purple eyes complimented her deep chestnut red hair, giving her an exotic look. She had a thin frame but corded muscles that told me she would be a challenge in battle. Standing next to her was another dark elf by the looks of it, introduced as Loreic by the monk. He stood with the posture of someone who's seen too much and lived to tell the tale; tall but guarded. He had matte-black hair cut close to his head on the sides but long and tied back into a ponytail on the top. His eyes reminded me partially of Hades, as there were places where I could not tell where his iris ended and his pupil began, his iris was so black. But there were also brilliant gold streaks racing through his eyes.

"These are Nagelring and Xyjigran. Two valued members of our group." I noticed he didn't explicitly say they were high elves, even though they both looked the part. "Nagelring died about fifteen hundred years ago in a freak accident. Somehow he yet lives while everyone who knew him saw him die." His hair and eyes had lost all pigment and turned completely grey. Now I've seen grey eyes before, no dip, Annabeth used to be my best friend. But this kind of grey looked more dead than the curious grey of Annabeth's eyes. "Xyjigran we picked up on the verge of death, fallen out of the sky somehow. I brought him here and we nursed him back to health." Xyjigran's skin seemed to glow with an otherworldly presence, his gold eyes taking in every detail of our company. He had neatly trimmed white hair that he brushed to one side of his face. He was muscular, more so than I had thought someone of his presence to be. My eyes ran over each of the peculiar company before the landed back upon the monk.

"I suppose I should introduce myself as well, hmm? Yes, in my day, they called me Dúbhshláine, which means Protector of the Wild." His eyes pulsed in tandem with his mirth.

Feeling humbled and very small by his presence, I bowed in respect. "Masters, I am humbled by your presence."

They all laughed at that, which immediately made me blush in embarrassment. _Did I do something wrong?_ I asked Arya. She smiled at me and told me to look back to the monk. He approached me with his arms open wide.

"You needn't be all fancy with us, lad! We have waited here for the next generation of Riders for thousands of years. We are here to serve you, Master Rider." I gave a small laugh as he slapped me on the back, throwing an arm over my shoulders. "Tonight, we feast in celebration of your return!" And with that, our two groups came together in merriment and good conversation for the remainder of the night. We had made it. We found our new home.

**A/N: So basically, I made this chapter by making a ton of little "excerpts" throughout time I couldn't write on my computer but I had an idea. So I pieced together several small pieces and came up with this chapter. I was so excited to write this because the story is going in a direction that I've been planning for a long time and I'm excited to see what you guys think of some of the twists and turns that I've decided to take. Enjoy the chapter!**

**~acquiringwriter**


	5. Chapter 4

**RECAP: I know it's been a while so here's a quick recap of what's happened in **_**Downhill**_** so far.**

**/^\**

Upon Kronos / Galbatorix's attack on Percy's base in the mountains of Colorado, they travelled to CHB where Chiron spurned their attempts to find safety. Percy remembered his conversation with the old leader of the Riders (an elf) back when he was in the very first Prism. So Percy and co. travel to Mount Everest to find this supposed Rider City. They had just found it and it's strange inhabitants when last chapter ended.

REMINDER: Annabeth is with the Elves in Vamdrenel (elven capital) and Nico likewise with the Dwarves, in Arau Barak (dwarven capital). The remaining friends (Eragon, Murtagh, Arya, Beckendorf, Bianca, Silena, Zoë, Tyson, Thalia, and Rachel) and the wild dragons, accompanied Percy to Mt. Everest. Now that your memory has been refreshed, let us continue with the story:

**/^\**

_We had made it. We found our new home._

Percy's POV – City of Dras abr Stenr Gedwëy

The city was astonishing. Smooth white marble and stone, inlaid with precious metals of all sorts. For a place that looked so easy on the eyes, it wasn't lacking in magical prowess either. This place had obviously been designed with incredibly large dragons in mind. The stone didn't scratch when Alexō walked over it, something we both failed to notice when we first arrived, most likely due to the shock of finding such a place that we could actually call home and meeting the Remnants, as we have taken to calling them.

After we had all gotten over our initial shock of finding this underground city, albeit one that didn't quite feel underground, we decided to name it _Dras abr Stenr Gedwëy_, which meant, the "City of Shining Stone." Considering all the marble around here, I felt the name was appropriate.

Arya and Dúbhshláine had helped me transfer all the scrolls, armor, and weapons that I had brought along into the library and armory almost immediately after we had arrived too, so now I didn't have this almost invisible burden lingering over my head about what to do with them.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Dras Stenr, our incredible new home, was the egg showroom. Hetfyre had informed me that each of the Remnants had gone on dozens of missions to retrieve eggs they had learned about before they were destroyed or lost to the ages. Due to this, hundreds of eggs had been squirreled away for safekeeping, each carefully protected magically and physically so that the dragons within would not go insane during the long wait.

Currently, I was teaching Rachel the basics of guarding her mind. She was quick to reach out with her mind, perhaps a side-effect of being so strong willed and clear-sighted, but she had difficulty keeping mental invaders at bay. She was of the opinion that if she could defeat them first, she would never have to defend, a notion that I try very hard to dissuade her, but alas, she seems not to take those teachings to heart. Noticing this, I "volunteered" Arya to train her, as she had me. Immediately, Arya had Rachel on the ground, writhing in pain from her mental strike. That's all it took to show her the importance of defending her mind.

Our days soon fell into a pattern. I woke early in the morning, stirred from my sleep by a spell that woke me when the Sun (the real one, not the artificial ones which gave light to Dras Stenr), reached a certain point in the sky. After washing, communing in the dining pavilion with Arya and the others for a quick breakfast, those from Alagaësia would practice on their own, where they needed it, be it weapons or magic. I, on the other hand, would take my students, put them through the forms that Oromis had put me through. Having trained most our lives at Camp Half-Blood, the training was vigorous but not impossible, save for Rachel who struggled with it more than the others. I pushed her especially hard, as I knew that she had a special place in the New Rider Order, and I needed her to be ready for the burden she would soon come to inherit. After said physical exercise, Arya pulled Rachel aside and taught her what mental magicks she could. Due to her unique position as the Oracle, her mind needed to be especially protected, lest our enemies see into her and discern something she had seen before. Coupled with the fact she didn't have a dragon bonded to her to help her defend her mind, the strength needed to come from within herself. She made progress in leaps and bounds, surprising everyone with the tenacity of her resolve to learn under the Dragon Riders. During my sessions with the Riders, Alexō would take their dragons from them and continue to train them in all things dragon, whether that be fire, flying, or controlling the wild magic that often worked through them.

Two things started to stand out to me as time rolled on. The first was Thalia. She grew increasingly morose, often deciding to withhold from festivities in favor of holding herself up within her room, only with Eclipse for company. I knew this was due to her separation from Nico. They had finally broken the barrier that had plagued them for so long and now, for her to have him ripped away by nothing more than circumstance, was taking its toll on her. Bianca tried to console her, but often to no avail. I knew a trip to the dwarves, albeit a temporary fix, would need to make its way onto our agenda sometime soon. The second was, not surprisingly, Beckendorf. The attack on my base in the Rockies had been particularly hard on him. Since moving to Dras Stenr, all free time had been occupied in the massive forge that had been discovered soon after our arrival. He said it brought him closer to his father and was his method of coping with what had happened to him. That battle, the battle that cost me my home and everything I had worked towards since coming back to earth, had cost him more than anyone else, being several now jagged scars and not to mention, his stump wrist. Despite his lack of an appendage, he still worked wonders with the nigh-on-endless reserve of metals we had here. Arya, being the most adept at healing magic, and myself second, had offered and even attempted at times to restore his body's connection with his hand, but to no avail. His body continued to reject the connection. Following our latest attempt, his face darkened and he threw his severed hand into the fire, stating that if this was what the Fates wanted, he would follow along.

Having never been a "well-behaved" demigod, I promptly replied, "Well, screw the Fates. They've brought me and my friends nothing but death and heartbreak. We'll find a way to help you, Beck." His expression softened to a degree, and, not one for many words, he nodded his appreciation. Silena was especially heartened to hear my proclaim of support, as she knew he couldn't keep going on like this forever.

I was practicing my innate powers over water when I had noticed Hjin standing nearby. Upon eye contact, I felt the strong twinge in neck that usually accompanied speaking with him. "Bloodmover," he greeted. I nodded to him, beckoning him to come closer. It was still unnerving to be greeted as such from him, but I knew there was nothing I could personally do to stop his use of the title.

"Hjin, nice to see you." His wound was especially red today, as if he'd been messing with it in his free time, which, as my knowledge of him grew, wouldn't be that surprising.

"I can see that your friend is having some difficulty adjusting to life without his hand. Is there perhaps something I can do? You know that I can do that which others cannot." I knew exactly what he was referring to. "Blood magic. It's a lost art, it is. But I am one of the few that can use it. You as well if you allowed me to train you," he spoke. The dull pain that my neck had been feeling sudden twisted, like someone was dragging a knife along my mark. I heard a faint sizzling, as if my mark itself was starting to burn. I lightly gasped in pain, losing my control over the stream of water that had been floating in front of me, dropping back into the pool. My head involuntarily snapped towards his direction, as I was forced to kneel to deal with the sudden onslaught of pain. His normally yellow eyes were streaked with a glowing, malevolent red. As abruptly as it had started, the pain vanished, along with the red streaks in Hjin's eyes.

"That's only a modicum of the power you could wield, no, already _have_ wielded. I saw you when you touched your power last time." I slowly got back to my feet, wishing my back and neck wasn't as tight as they were now.

Looking him back in the eyes, I spoke, "I cannot openly accept this power, my rank and position prohibits it. Last time, I only used it in anger, and I didn't even mean to, then. But if you'll teach me to resist someone else using this power against me, I think I could do that." A smile crossed his eyes, and putting an arm around my shoulders, he replied, "You have much to learn then. I'll teach you what I can." _What have I just gotten myself into?_ I wondered.

**/^\**

It wasn't long after I started my training with Hjin before my newest Riders were ready for their gear. But I didn't want to give them all the gear they needed before I knew they had everything else they needed. And for Beckendorf, that included a new hand. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, Thalia, Arya and I planned a trip to the dwarves and our outpost there. Upon recuperation, I had Nico take me to the most advanced crafts-dwarf in Arau Barak.

"Master Rorndal?" I asked. His gaze lifted from the project he was examining and landed on me.

"Aye, elf?" Nodding to Nico that Arya and I could handle it from here, he took off to go spend a little time with Thalia before she had to leave again. I quickly explained what we wanted to him.

"You wish for me to craft a hand, aye?" His English was refined, for a dwarf so old. He was still over 6 feet tall, as was custom for dwarves, built with massive arms forged by decades of pounding metal at an anvil. Broad shoulders swept down from a thicker neck than most, covered by a long beard tied with ornate beads and braids that had long since been white with age. His face was wrinkled around the mouth and eyes, showing a lifetime of hard times where he still managed to smile. A thick scar split the left end of his lower lip, like something ferocious had torn it up when he was young.

"Yes, sir. My friend lost his hand in a, uh, _unforeseen_ attack and all magical attempts to restore the connection have been for naught," I replied, amazed by the rasp of his baritone voice.

"Ah, a purely magical approach to a problem such as this will fail you every time. What you need, Master Rider, is the makings of an mechanical hand for the ages. I can create such a marvel but only if you help me first." I raised an eyebrow as he continued, "I need some more brightsteel. I used up my last little bit in this project and we might need some more for this one." He chuckled lightly and pointed me in the direction of the supplier, a marginally less stocky dwarf who carried around a piece of magically reinforced slate that told him where all of his supplies were at any given time. After some time trying to get his attention, Arya and I were carrying back rather large, surprisingly heavy blocks of brightsteel, dropping it none too softly on the ground near his anvil.

"Aha! Now that'll do! Here here lad, I'll make him a hand but I need to know the dimensions of his wrist. Drop me a memory and I'll work from there." Doing as told, I entered his mind and left a copy of the memory where I examined Beck's wrist and arm after I had healed it. Feeling the eerie structure of the dwarf's mind bearing down on my own, I hastily withdrew, feeling more safe within my mental castle. "I will get to work on this at once. There has been nary an opportunity for something like this in a long while. Now shoo, I've work to do." He ushered us out of his workspace. We didn't know how long it would take for him to complete his project and so we wandered around Arau Barak for almost a week. Arya and I hadn't seen much more than a peep from Nico and Thalia, but I suppose that was to be expected with how long they had spent apart. I honestly wouldn't be _that_ surprised if Thalia told me she wanted to stay here. It was simply because of Rorndal's next request that she didn't ask me to stay.

Upon the completion of his project, he told us that it would be remiss of him not to see it through to the end. And by that, he meant that he would be returning to Dras Stenr with us to see the hand attached to Beckendorf's arm. I immediately asked Nico if he wanted to come, as no eggs had hatched for dwarves yet. This would allow him to see where we were now situated and give him somewhere to go if he ever needed to escape. Granted, it wouldn't be that hard for him to visit, as he could simply jump into a shadow and be there any time he wanted. Our trip back was uneventful, something we were thankful for. When we returned, people were immediately set on helping the dwarf with his project. He welcomed all the help he could get, saying, "It will be magically exhaustive."

It was not more than an hour later that had us all sitting in a circle around Beckendorf and Rorndal. Calling on my pool of magic, and feeling the dozen people around me do so as well, an electric sensation primed the air as everyone was magically filled to the brim. One at a time, we branched out with our minds and joined with Beckendorf and Rorndal. Allowing them to draw from the now massive pool of energy, Rorndal slowly started connecting various wires of the hand to veins and muscles of Beckendorf's nervous system, occasionally sending off a spark that caused Beck to twitch and grimace painfully. Every once and awhile, the dwarf would pull from our magic reserves to separate part of Beck's arm or to splice it back together, the metal parts added seamlessly. What seemed like hours passed by us, everyone slowly becoming more and more exhausted with every small spell that the dwarf had to use. I myself still felt fine, but Silena and Bianca seemed pale, at best. I told them to go get sleep, lest they burn themselves up by expending too much magic.

Feeling approval flash over the mental bond, I turned my direct attention to the dwarf. He was looking down at Beckendorf's new hand. The skin seamlessly merged with the metal of the hand. Releasing my grip over the magic, and slumping forward a bit as a rush of exhaustion rushed over me, I looked at Beck. He was testing the new device, closing and opening the hand with what looked like ease. He nodded briefly before looking up at the dwarf.

"I hadn't expected this. I was getting used to doing things with my stump wrist. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have the ability to use both of them again," Beckendorf said, gaze lingering on his silvery-blue hand and the way it moved exactly how he expected and wanted it to. Rorndal smiled, the corners of his face wrinkled and his eyes twinkling.

"Anything for a son of the Forge, Moradin be with you," Rorndal replied, bowing his head slightly in respect. Groaning softly, he rose to his feet and looked around. "Master Rider, might I inquire about somewhere to rest? I believe the best route would be to rest before I travel back to Arau Barak."

"Of course! Caidmyr, Rygmyr, could you guys find Master Rorndal a place to sleep?" They both blinked simultaneously and nodded an affirmative. Soon Rorndal had left to regain his strength so he would be safer on the trip home. Most everyone else, including Arya, retired to their rooms to catch a nap or work on their studies, excluding myself and Beckendorf. Seeing as this whole adventure was spurred by my desire for him to be "whole" again so that he could fight and learn in a way that was normal for him, I figured now would be a good time for him to choose his gear. "Beckendorf. You've come a long way since you started your training. As it was with all the students who came before you, granted it was only three, I believe you are ready to become a Rider in full." I led him to the armory where Arya and I had stowed all the armor, weapons, and regalia that came with it. "Pick your poison, Beck." He slowly walked through the lines upon lines of armor stands that filled the large room until he came to a stop in front a set of armor that he seemed to like.

It was red, a vibrant color close in shade to that of his dragon's, Iyrin and accented in key parts with a sturdy black. The set starts with a black leather jerkin, as is usually standard, coupled with metal boots, greaves and a cloth wrap to cover his thighs. Heavy plated armor with minimalistic pauldrons, vambraces and leather gloves with metal backing on the knuckles and fingers. A helm would cover his head, rounded in back for a close fit and coming to a pointed edge in the middle of the face, with wide eye slots for an unparalleled line of sight. A plain round shield also accompanied the armor, along with a belt for any sheaths that he would need to carry.

"A good choice, it will suit you well. But we're not done yet. There's one more thing you need. A weapon," I said. I led him to the part of the armory that housed all the weapons we currently had. A good twenty minutes later, Beckendorf comes back empty handed.

"All these weapons are swords or spears. I think I want to make my own, if that's okay." Seeing as Rorndal was still here, Beckendorf and Rorndal decided to spend the next while working on his weapon of choice. As soon as it was finished, Beck said he would come find me so I could see his work.

**/^\**

Raising Adurna into an overhead guard with the blade slightly turned to the side, I ducked and slide past Arya's quick strike towards my head, throwing her slightly off balance and launched a roundhouse kick towards her side. She recovered too quickly, however, and easily back-stepped out of its range, where she retaliated with another lightning quick front cut that would have easily taken off my arm had I stayed in my current position. I flung myself to the right, placing my feet back on the ground and lowering Adurna in front of me just in time. Our blades made contact and held for a quick second before she pushed away just as quickly, ever so slightly dropping her guard. I went on the offensive, striking left and right in a flurry of attacks that seemed to come from all directions, before I quickly twisted my blade around her hilt mid strike and shoved my blade to the side, forcing it to leave her hand. Using the momentum from my last attack, I dropped to one knee and kicked her nearest foot out from under her. Or tried to, at least.

Having already been disarmed, Arya was already watching for whatever move I could have pulled next, and she immediately recognized my leg sweep for what it was as I crouched down. Her leg wasn't there when I should have made contact with it, causing my momentum to carry me through the turn far enough to where my back was to her. Lashing out with her right leg, she kicked Adurna from my hands and launched a kick towards my head that I barely blocked with my forearms, leaving my abdomen open for attack. The leg I just blocked quickly pulled back and delivered a roundhouse to my chest, knocking all the air right from my lungs and knocking me flat on my back, kicking up an ironically large cloud of dust as I landed. In no time at all, Arya had me pinned, using her hips to keep my legs in place and her arms to keep my guard away from my face, where she could easily deliver the fight-ending blow to my face.

Thankfully, her fist stopped a moment's notice away from my cheekbone, and she said, "Accept defeat, Percy. I have bested you."

Releasing a chuckle I responded, "Indeed you have. Good fight." She released my arms and slouched forward in partial exhaustion, not bothering to move herself from her seated position. My arms found themselves moving to pull her next to me on the ground, to which she offered little resistance. We laid as such for quite a few minutes, my arm around her shoulders, her head resting on the soft part of my shoulder just lateral of the pectoral, a hand resting on the middle of my chest. We must certainly have been a sight, two warriors decently covered in dust and sweat, laying on the hard ground of the training room, our weapons forgotten but laying nearby where they had been kicked from our hands.

Our rest ended a moment too soon when someone entering the room startled us.

"Oh, uh, am I interrupting something? Heh, I'll just be going then," Nico lightly drawled as he slowly walked backwards out of the room. I heard a thud and a clinking of armor, followed by a "_Nico!_" who I can only imagine was Thalia berating him for "ruining the moment." Said statement was followed by laughter on Nico's part, and then joined in by Thalia, but the sound was getting quieter so I could only imagine that they had decided to go train somewhere else.

"Your friends seem to have a penchant for interrupting us like this," Arya somewhat wistfully said.

I sighed, "Indeed they do." We both let out a light chuckle at the situation. I made to sit up but Arya had beat me to it and used me a springboard to push herself up, leaving me back on the ground surrounded by a miniature cloud of dust. She laughed, a surprisingly dainty and light-hearted sound, something I enjoyed to hear from her. Smiling back up at her, I took her proffered hand and rose to my feet as well, striding over and picking Adurna up from the ground, who glowed softly in response. It had been doing that more often, glowing in response to my touch or my emotions and I wasn't sure what was causing it, but I had decided to go along for the ride and see what came of it. I slid Adurna back into its sheath and turned back to Arya. She stared at me for a moment, then realized I was looking back at her and made a startled noise in her throat, her cheeks becoming slightly rosy. I felt a light nudge on my mind, and recognizing it as Beckendorf, opened my mind to his.

_I've finished my weapon, would you like to come see it?_ He thought in my mind.

Replying just as quickly, I thought, _Sure thing, Arya and I will be there soon._ I thought I felt something start to come through the mental link but Beckendorf quickly caught it and stowed it, hastily retreating back into his own mind. Telling Arya of the exchange, she readily agreed to accompany me down to the forge to see what Beckendorf and Rorndal had concocted.

The forge, ever in use, was still blazingly hot by the time we arrived. Beckendorf was standing over a covered piece of work.

"Well, let's see it!" I impatiently offered. Beckendorf smiled and pulled the cloth covering his work clear, revealing a warhammer not dissimilar to things I had seen in other areas, that is, Alagaësia. It was very similar in shape to a dwarven warhammer, with a long leather-wrapped hilt, a hoop at the pommel for hooking it onto a belt for easy access. The actual hammer part of the weapon was quite literally just a block of red brightsteel, carved with intricate designs, and strengthened using various blacksmithing-related spells I would probably never feel the need to learn. Having made the piece entirely out of this red colored brightsteel, it was incredibly sturdy, unlikely to break from impact with something hard. I was admiring the red of the metal when I noticed something else: Beckendorf's hand was also the same color. Somehow he had altered it to match the shade of his dragon's scales, which in turn complemented his armor and now his weapon.

"It suits you well, Beck. It looks good. A warhammer fit for a warrior, - fit for a _Rider_ such as yourself," I praised. He seemed humbled by it and simply gave me a small smile. "Why don't you show me what you can do with that thing, Beck?" He smiled and we made our way to the training room, where we started up a tournament of sorts for anyone who wanted to join and get a fight in.


End file.
